


It's Just The Strangest Thing

by helike



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Eren Yeager-centric, Gen, POV Eren Yeager, References to Canon, Reincarnation, Strange Dreams, Strange Meetings, a few curse words because that's how Levi talks, creepy meetings, implied reincarantion, strange and unexplained behaviour, strange memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-17
Updated: 2014-11-17
Packaged: 2018-02-25 19:31:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2633588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helike/pseuds/helike
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s not normal to meet a person for the first time in your life and be sure you’ve already met before. Neither is it normal to be in a situation, which you know is completely new to you, but at the same time you are sure you’ve already experienced it. And yet it all happens to Eren; one strange event follows another. The more years pass, the more often in happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Just The Strangest Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Brought to you thanks to the newest addition to SnK songs, namely “So ist es immer”. If not for this song, the fic would have spent another half a year or more in my WIP folder (and I wish I were kidding about the half-a-year part).

It first happens in a small town located somewhere in the middle of Europe.

Eren doesn't remember its name, although his parents for sure do. They take him there as soon as they deem him old enough to travel together with them, see new places, meet new people and simply have fun, and Eren, even though still a child, doesn't mind. Ask him and he'll tell you that it does feel great to travel around. Especially together with his parents, because he's still at age when journeys in parents' company are seen as cool and great.

The town they visit isn't big, but definitely old. It's also somewhat odd and it shows wherever your eyes will rest. The architecture is a mix of different styles, where wooden buildings – such a rarity nowadays – stand next to brick ones.

It might look like an interesting place to be in, but Eren doesn't like the town even one bit. He keeps refusing to walk around, as the town is surrounded by high stone walls – the grim reminder of the stormy past times, as they are told. And this is exactly where the problem stems from – these walls, for the reason as much incomprehensible for Eren as it is for anyone else, make him feel... strange. He feels like a prisoner locked in a tiny cell; the prisoner who knows they'll never be able to leave the place.

As it is, Eren is practically dragged around the town. He clutches his mother's hand, trailing slowly behind her, and he's sure that at some point she must have started to regret that she forced him to go with them. The longer they stay in this town, the more Eren's uneasiness grows, and it hits the top, when they enter some side street. This is the place where Eren stops, his legs refuse to move, his whole body trembles. He has this feeling that _something_ slowly approaches them, something dangerous that hides just behind their backs. And Eren is sure that if he looks over his shoulder, he will see it – a grotesque silhouette with an almost human-like shape, but a human it is not. It's something else, something much worse, more dangerous.

His parents seem surprised at first and try to coax him into walking further. Eren, however, shakes his head and tries to take a few steps back instead. Troubled, his parents exchange puzzled looks, not sure how to react and what to do.

The situation would surely transform into some emergency case, with Eren possibly going through a nervous breakdown of some kind, if not for a stranger, a policeman on a patrol, who stops by them, seeing Eren's great distress.

What Eren mostly remembers from what happens after that is a large hand patting his head and a warm yet somewhat sad smile on the man's face. Strangely enough, there is something familiar about the way that big hand rests on his head, ruffling his hair. Just as if it was something that happened before, he thinks as he peers at the man intently.

The man says something about the place – and Eren is sure that he doesn't mean the town, but the street itself – that makes some people feel uneasy at best and terrified at worst – and Eren just _knows_ that sometimes they scream something about terrible monsters following them and sometimes they don't. Then the man leans down, a smile still on his face, winks at Eren, and in a soft voice, quiet enough only for Eren to hear it, he says, "There are times when even I feel terrified when I'm here. To the point where I just stand, not being able to move. And all I want to do is turn around and run away." Then he looks to the side, fixing his eyes on something that Eren can't see, but which might be there for the man, and something flashes through the man's face. He bites on his lip, his fists clench and his body tenses.

Then there it is – a very short while, no longer than a heartbeat, when Eren wonders if the man is in pain. (A silly thought it is, because why would he be when there are no monsters around?) The man's expression reminds him of what his mother's looks like sometimes. It's something that almost says "if only things had gone some other way."

Soon the man gives them all one last smile and walks away, his shoulders a little less slumped now than they were just short moments before.

Eren keeps staring at the man's back, watching him disappear in the distance. When his eyes rest on the man's jacket, the boy knits his brows, feeling that somehow the jacket looks off. Eren can't help but wonder why there were no roses there, because he was so sure there should be some on the back of the man's jacket.

That night, and a few more that follows it, he keeps dreaming about walls, long and high, much higher than anything he's seen so far and so different from the ones he saw in the town.

The events soon become something for Eren to laugh at. Especially when he grows older. Just three years later, he finds himself nothing but silly every time he remembers what happened in the town. He still doesn't like confined spaces – who in their right mind would really love them? – but at least walls no longer arouse anxiety in him. Neither do some side streets, although he's anything but eager to check if it's the same for _that_ one street in the town which name he still can't remember.

It's only sometimes, in fleeting short moments that pass in the blink of an eye, that he feels tempted to go back to that place and look for that man. Because no matter how strange their meeting was, there was something nostalgic about it all, which could only be compared to meeting an old friend – the one you haven't seen for years. But there is no way he could find the man easily as he didn't know his name; all he knows is that the man was a policeman.

As more time passes, the memory fades and starts to disappear. A few years later Eren is not even sure if he did have a panic attack in one of side streets of the distant town.

The next strange event takes place during another trip with his parents. (Sadly with them, because no matter how much he regrets it, he still isn't allowed to make one just by himself; being a teenager sucks so much sometimes.) Thankfully he does get a permission to wander around on his own, assuming he'll obey one million rules and whatnot.

It's during one of his little trips all by himself that he somehow manages to turn in the wrong side at a crossroad or something of this kind and finds his face (and himself) wrapped in a damp sheet. (Oh, and good job, Eren, for doing it, that's what you get for daydreaming.)

Blinking, he raises his hands, trying to free himself from the fabric and almost drags everything down to the ground in the process. (And it definitely doesn't happen, because he panics at first and starts to wave his hands as if he was trying to keep a swarm of bees away.)

Now he has done it, he thinks, as when he finally frees himself from the sheet, he notices a woman standing in front of him.

He does expect to see her with a frown on her face and the lips tightly pressed. And with her fists on her hips – he's pretty sure that's what his mother would look like if he ever walked into _her_ laundry.

But to his surprise, the woman just gazes at him, her eyes full of warmth and something that Eren can't really name, but which reminds him of his own mother. Her expression softens and there is a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She raises her hand and brushes Eren's cheek as she whispers, "You've grown so big, Eren."

That's the exact moment when Eren's heart decides to leap and do some crazy somersault in his chest. Eren flinches and steps back, his eyes wide open.

The woman gasps, her eyes widens, and her hand quickly travels to her mouth, covering it. "I'm so sorry! Did I scare you?" She smiles apologetically, her cheeks slowly turning pink. "I mistook you for my son."

"Uh, I'm fine." Eren mutters and looks away.

It's a lie, though.

He's anything but fine right now. It should be creepy and scary perhaps – because who would expect a stranger randomly touching you and then calling you the name that _is_ yours – but it's not. Instead what he feels is closer to relief. And here they come, these little traitors – tears sting his eyes and it takes all he has not to burst out crying in front of the woman. Why, oh why is he on the verge of smiling and laughing through tears at the same time, because it feels like a long awaited meeting?

"I, uh, kinda got the laundry dirty," Eren speaks, his voice unexpectedly steady and strong despite the mixed feeling he's fighting with.

Contrary to his words, however, he did manage to save a part of the laundry, and no more than two sheets landed in the dirt.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles as he picks them up and hands them to the woman.

The woman shakes her head and smiles. "I'll just wash them again."

Eren, despite himself, smiles back and when she invites him inside her house, complaining about how hardly anyone visits her these days, he follows her, all rules set by his parents and warnings forgotten.

Two cups of tea, quite a few home-made biscuits and million stories about her son later Eren is starting to feel like he was at home. There is something... soothing – and so familiar as well – in watching the woman work in the kitchen, washing the dishes and preparing the dinner.

It's hard to say how old the woman is – well, at least it's hard for him, although he does suspect she isn't much older than his own mother is. Every now and then she glances at him over her shoulder, her face softening immediately. Then she brushes away a few strands of hair which somehow managed to escape from her loose ponytail and again focuses her attention on whatever she's doing at the moment.

He smiles at the woman, she smiles back at him, and keeps talking about what a coincidence it is that he shares the name with her son – the boy who would often climb trees only to fall down from them, come late from grocery shopping and who more often than not would get himself into some pointless fights and scuffle. And why, oh why, it all sounds so familiar and well-known, just like Eren himself was the boy the woman keeps talking about?

Finally she asks him about his future plans and the very same moment he tells her that being a traveller seems great – to him at least, because he's not so sure about his parents' opinion on the subject – she kind of... snaps.

Before he even realises what exactly happens, her hands are on his shoulders, her fingers clutched on them with such a force that Eren is sure that her grip will leave marks on his skin. Her eyes are wide and wild as she shouts, "You can't! You can't go with them! If you go outside the walls, the monster will catch you and you'll die."

Eren's eye widen and he stares at her, frozen like an ice statue, unable to react in any way. It's then that he finally remembers why it's not a wise idea to follow strangers, especially into their houses, no matter how friendly and nice they appear. To make the matter worse his mind supplies him with the memory of Hansel and Gretel's story and Eren does try to pretend that he doesn't see that huge old stove in the corner of the kitchen and doesn't think of what might have been roasted there.

Fortunately, just when Eren is on the edge of freaking out once and for good and create a huge scene, there is some noise coming from the direction of the front door. It's followed by a loud "Sorry for being late!" said in a low, booming voice. It draws the woman's attention, her hands slips from Eren's shoulders and the woman paces toward the kitchen door.

Eren lets out a breath of relief, feeling as if he was saved from some danger, although maybe he shouldn't relax yet, because who knows who exactly has entered the house. It could well be a mad man, Eren realizes, as his eyes travel to the stove. He shudders at the thought.

The woman, clearly oblivious to how Eren feels, smiles at whoever has just come in. "It's fine," she says, her voice soft and warm, "I was having fun talking to Eren."

Mere seconds later a man appears in the kitchen door. There is a frown on his face and his lips are tightly pressed. He is young – probably, but better don't count much at Eren's ability to tell anyone's age – yet the serious look on his face and a pair of glasses make him look more mature.

"We've had this talk before. Eren..." the man starts to say, but as soon as his eyes rest on Eren, he stops in the middle of sentence. The man’s eyes widen and some indescribable expression flashes through his face. Long story short – he looks as if he saw a ghost. He even pales a bit, but collects himself quickly and fixes his eyes on Eren, his brows drawn together.

Eren shifts uncomfortably in the chair under the man's hard stare.

"You are... Eren...?"

The words sound half like a statement, half like a question.

Eren only nods in the reply.

The man keeps watching him for a while longer. Then he raises his hand and rubs the bridge of his nose.

"I hope... you had a good fun here," he says.

Eren darts him a quick glance. It might be only his imagination, but the man's voice sounds somewhat... strained.

"I did," Eren replies slowly and somewhat hesitantly, even though that's how he indeed feels, despite the woman's sudden outburst. "I should be heading home, though. It's gotten awfully late."

"Such a pity." The woman visibly saddens, but just a second later her face brightens. "How about I'll pack you some biscuits?"

With these words she walks out of the kitchen, leaving Eren together with the man.

"Uh... I... did she say or do anything... strange?" The man speaks as soon as they are alone. He doesn't really look at Eren, his eyes focused at the table.

Eren blinks and stares at the man. He doesn't think that he should tell him about what happened in the kitchen just a few minutes ago. "We only talked about her son." He pauses, stares at the man and considers a sudden thought that has just come to his mind. "Are you Eren perhaps?"

The man flinches and finally looks at him – or more like stares at him – biting his lips. Some emotion shows on his face, but it disappears so quickly that Eren can't say what exactly it is.

"Eren has never existed." The man finally replies, his voice flat. "Her mind isn't quite right, but she's mostly harmless." He adds after a while, as if he feels obliged to explain it all to Eren, and gives Eren an apologetic look.

Eren just stares at him, dumbfounded. Just how could it be? Her stories were so detailed, felt so true. And the boy from the stories seemed so real. Just how could that Eren be a product of the woman's imagination? Eren is doubtful, despite what the man told him, but before he can say anything, the woman is back with a paper bag in her hands.

"You could give some your parents as well," she says as she packs the biscuits into the bag.

The she leads Eren to the front door and locks him in a tight embrace at the doorstep.

"Beware of monsters," she whispers into his ear and gives him one of these sad smiles that can break a heart, her hand brushing his cheek gently. It's almost as if the one she is seeing off was her own son and not the boy she met just a few hours before.

Eren strides away quickly, leaving behind the house, the man and the woman, and doesn't look back as if he is afraid of what he would see there. Here it is, that unexplainable feeling again and Eren is half convinced that if he _does_ look back, there will be no house but only a rubble left. The rubble with a monster towering over it and picking something from the remains of the house.

As he walks back to the hotel where he stays with his parents, he clutches the bag to his chest, so tightly that surely nothing but small crushed pieces of biscuits will have been left by the time he gets to the place. His head is full of thoughts about the woman who seemed so fond of him and talked a lot about the son she's never had. He wonders if it is meaningful or not that the imaginary son has the same that he possesses.

As if urged by something, he starts to run, passing houses and side streets – and then there it is, the thought he has to hurry, he has to run faster and he can't be late. And the fear of what he'll find when he gets back to the place where his parents' stay.

His heart almost skip a beat and a wave of relief washes over him when he finally sees the hotel – his silly mind half-expecting it to be gone, reduced to the rubble under a huge boulder, just like something he saw somewhere, although he has no idea when and where.

He sees his mother waiting for him outside the hotel, her eyes narrowed and her lips tightly pressed. Eren sighs in relief, runs towards her and wraps his hands around her waist, pressing his head to her shoulder.

Whatever she wants to say, whatever lecture she planned to give him for his being late – and late he is quite a lot – it all is left unspoken. She never asks where he was and what happened to him. Instead she moves her hands, one of them to pat his back and the other one to stroke his hair.

That night Eren dreams of wide and seemingly endless field of grass and blooming flowers under the high, blue sky, and about having wings. As soon as he wakes up he forgets everything but feeling free, although something tells him that in that dream he paid a high price for that freedom to have.

After that his life is quite uneventful for a few years.

Unless you count all these mornings when he wakes up, not really sure where he is and how he got there, during which he spends long minutes reminding himself that his parents run a small flower shop – and no, his father is not a doctor and he won't disappear without any trace one day and that his mother does work in fact and doesn't spend whole days at home, being just a housewife.

There also is his unexplainable... uneasiness – not a fear, mind it – related to needles. He's really got better with them over years and now he doesn't end up with something akin to a panic attack every time anybody tries to draw his blood with them. Unless they wear glasses, that's it. Needles, doctors wearing glasses and Eren just don't mix well together, no matter how ridiculous it might seem.

And then there is that one day when he stares at his reflection in the mirror, wondering who is it that looks at him from the other side of glass. Because there is no way that he looks like that. His hair isn't in the right shade of brown as it should be darker. And his eyes shouldn't be so grey, but more bluish-green instead. And even his skin doesn't quite look right as is should look more tanned. Long minutes pass before these feelings disappear and Eren finally recognizes himself.

Yes, strange things keep happening to him indeed, but nothing compares to the meeting with the woman, he thinks.

A few more years pass before Eren is finally allowed to travel alone – thank goodness for that little mercy, as the older he got, the more embarrassing it was to travel everywhere together with his parents.

His first target is obvious – the ocean.

Or maybe rather it was obvious before he realised how much it would cost to go there. In the end he settles for what seems to be the closest to his initial choice – the sea. He's dreamt about it – and the ocean of course – for years, but has never got a chance to see it. (The television doesn't count, okay?) Whatever the exact reason is – and he only knows that it's closely related to his parents' personal likes and dislikes – none of their past journeys took them closer than 100 kilometres to the seaside. Time to fix it, he thinks.

So here he is, all pumped up and whatnot, quickly striding towards the seashore. He isn't sure what to expect there. He thinks it will be a different kind of experience and it is. In a way, but not really in the one he would expect it to be.

The sea... is big.

As big as books claim.

And that's all about it. Except for being big, it's flat as a desk, with very few low waves marring its surface and looking mostly... grey. All the expectations he's ever had are crushed and Eren's lips almost twist in disgust. He's pretty sure that the sea, or the ocean for that matter, should be green-blue or something like this.Wasn't it written in the old leather-bound book he once saw, although he can't really remember when or where it was?

There is no one on the beach, save for a single person sitting on the sand. That person, a young man, is watching the sea as if it was one of the seven wonders of the world. He has a book with him, but it lies forgotten on his laps. Suddenly the man turns his head and his eyes seem to sweep over Eren as if he could sense that Eren has been watching him.

Eren flinches and turns around. With his shoulders slumped, he leaves the beach and slowly shuffles toward the motel he stays in. He's so lost in his thoughts that he almost walks in somebody. He jerks his head, with words of apology ready to be said, but whatever he intends to say, is quickly forgotten when he see the person in front of him.

The man he accidentally walked in leans down and sniffs at Eren and then he just nods to himself. A smirk appears on his face as the man turns around and walks away.

Eren reacts as anyone in his place would and just stands there, staring at the man's back and trying to decide if he's amused and positively creeped out. And then there is that strange feeling again, that it's not the first time such a thing has happened, and the more he thinks about it, the more creepy the thought becomes.

Finally Eren shakes his head and resumes his walk toward the motel. That night he dreams of wide fields of grass under the sky, high and blue, an old book in a leather cover he keeps in his hands and talking about the ocean to somebody whose face he never manages to see.

The very next day he discover that he _does_ love the sea after all. The huge amount of grey from the day before is gone. All it takes is just the right angle of the light and the sea changes, its surface in all shades of green, blue and the colour close to yellow in places where the water is not deep and the sand can be seen under the water surface.

The quiet sound of waves, even as small as they are now, evokes nostalgic feelings. Eren makes himself as comfortable as one can while sitting on the beach, his fingers digging deep in the sand, and looks up.

The sky is high and clear, no single cloud on it. The sun in its full glory burns and blaze, slowly yet inevitably raising the temperature until the sand and pretty much everything turns so hot that the place starts being similar to a gigantic frying pan. He's more than grateful for the little shadow that the trees by the beach are offering as without it the heat would have chased him away from the beach long ago.

He closes his eyes and loses himself in the quiet sound of waves.

The sea is just the second point of his list of the places he wants to see – the ocean is first. But it all will take time – much much more than he would prefer – and money, of course. These two places are just a top of the iceberg, however, as Eren, much to his parents worry and dismay, does plan to travel all around the world. The further, higher, deeper, the better. The need just exists inside of him, it's always been there, and Eren himself doesn't really know where exactly it comes from, but he does know it's gotten stronger over the years.

The world is not a small place, he thinks, and there are no obstacles – _no walls_ – to stop him from moving around. Save for the money, that's it – Eren winces at the thought.

The sound of waves almost lulls him into sleep. All other sounds seem to come from the distance and so do cheerful cries of the group of teenagers who came to the beach some time after him. And strangely enough there is something about the cries that actually makes them sound familiar, although he's pretty sure that he knows no one in that group.

"Hey, can you pass the ball to us?"

The loud voice cuts through Eren’s pondering, quite abruptly bringing him back to reality.

His eyes snap open. He blinks and looks around. There is a ball by his feet indeed, but Eren just stares at it blankly.

"Hey, the ball?"

The voice is clearly getting closer and Eren can even hear some quiet mumbling, which maybe is not that quiet after all, as the last time he saw them, the group of teenagers played quite far from him.

Eren leans forth and picks up the ball. With it in his hands he turns to the person, a boy, who's called him, but as soon as Eren's eyes move to him, something clicks in his mind and he freezes in his movement. Instead of passing the ball, he stares at the boy, a teenager maybe a year or two younger than him.

The boy winces, his lips press tight, his eyes narrow and he starts looking daggers at Eren, his patience clearly tested. And that look on his face clearly says "you're wasting my time here."

Of course a strange thing _must_ happen again. Eren can feel how his blood slowly starts boiling in him just by looking at the boy in front of him. Which surely makes no sense, does it?

"The ball?" the boy repeats, his voice almost changing in a low drawl. His eyes bore into Eren.

"Uh, sorry," Eren replies as he throws the ball – and then he has to bite his tongue so that he wouldn't call the boy "horse-face", because that's not what you call a stranger. Besides, this boy's face isn't even that long to deserve this name.

Eren just stares at the boy, million thoughts crossing his mind within seconds, and the boy stares back at him before he turns around and walks away. He does throw Eren one more glance over his shoulder, somewhat puzzled, and his brows furrow. Then he shakes his head and mumbles, "Weirdo."

Eren watches him walk away, not quite sure what just happened.

The situation will clearly score high in his personal book of strange events. It's almost as bizarre as looking in the mirror in the morning and not recognizing his own reflection – and then think that something looks terribly wrong, because the reflection doesn't look the way it should. At least he could put the blame for that on not being fully awake, but what excuse does he have now? Something must be wrong with his brain, he thinks. _Or you're going insane_ , a quiet voice in his head adds and Eren's thoughts wander to the woman he met years ago – at least he won't be alone in losing his sanity if that's the case.

A loud burst of laughter cuts into his musing and Eren jerks his head, his eyes immediately moving to the group of the teenagers, as he's sure it's something related to them.

And indeed, the first thing he sees is a short, thin girl standing still and looking down at the ground. Before her is one of the teenager, quite a big guy, lying on the sand, his legs over his head. Eren thinks he has a pretty good idea how the teen got there and who got him on the ground in the first place. He's ready to bet his money on the petite girl standing over him. And, oh boy, such an uncomfortable position it seems to be that Eren actually winces as he sees it and there is a strange feeling in his back as if it hurt, but it doesn't. And he's seen it all before, in some other place, he thinks. Even though these people look so different – Eren is sure he hasn't met them before – it's all the same in some way.

Eren kind of hopes that the boy on the ground is the one from the ball incident, but no – there he is, standing next to some other teen and laughing, while another person helps the one on the ground to get to his feet. They all seem so happy that Eren can't help but feel a warm fuzzy feeling growing in his chest. It's like watching long-life friends having good fun and for a short while Eren wishes he could be there, together with them.

He can feel a wide grin spread over his face... which quickly fades as he catches the petite girl – the expert at throwing big guys on the ground, he's sure of it – staring at him, her face devoid of any emotion and partially covered by the long fringe. She raises her hand and brushes the hair away, her eyes still on Eren.

Eren almost flinches, half-expecting to be the next one being thrown on the sand, because from their point of view he's but a stalker, yet after a short while the girl turns her head away.

He lets out a sigh of relief. He shakes his head as he gathers his things and leaves the beach. Just when he's about to step on the pavement, a quiet voice stops him.

"Excuse me, you dropped something."

As Eren turns around, there is a young man standing there, with Eren's notepad in his hand. Eren stares at it, blinks, and curses quietly. He takes the notepad, mumbles some thanks, his eyes move to the person's face and... then he frowns.

The face looks familiar. Familiar in a real way and not the one that gives him an eerie feeling he's just experienced while talking to the boy on the beach. Eren blinks and shakes his head, trying to get rid of disturbing thoughts. Instead, he darts a swift glance at the man and once again the strange feeling is back – it's almost like meeting a good friend or even someone more, like a dear family member.

Eren blinks.

"You like the sea, don't you?"

The words escape Eren before he can stop them and in the very next moment he already regrets them.

The man's eyes widen and he stares at Eren, watching him carefully, his head slightly turned to the side. It all makes him look like as if he wonders what Eren motives are.

That's the exact moment when Eren starts to panic, because why, oh why, did he have to bring the topic? But then his brain finally takes mercy on him and supplies Eren with a piece of useful – and real – information for a change. Now he remembers. He saw this man on the beach the day before, with the book on his laps, neglected and forgotten, and the look of pure bliss on his face. Eren is quite sure it was the look of somebody whose greatest dream had just come true. He decides to ignore the next fact that his brain decided to provide as well – that the sight, the man and the book, was so familiar, as if he kept seeing it every day.

"Uh, I saw you yesterday on the beach," Eren mumbles. "You seemed to like the view."

A dreamy look appears on the man's face as if he was recalling some memory perhaps.

"I did. Although it doesn't compare to the ocean," the young man replies after a while, his brows slightly drawn together, his eyes peering intently into Eren's. Funnily enough, there is a short while when he looks as if wanted to ask Eren some question, but he says nothing in the end. Instead he shakes his head.

"Thanks for the notepad," Eren says, feeling somewhat disappointed, although there is no reason for him to feel in this way. It's not like he was meeting his good friend who didn't recognize him, is it?

"You're welcome." The man flashes him a shy smile before he turns around and goes back to the beach.

Strangely enough, there is an unexplained sense of regret sticking in Eren's heart and mind, and, to be honest, Eren finds the thought and his own reactions positively creepy. He even has to stop himself from running after the man. And there it is again, that thought that something important has just happened, and that he shouldn't leave it like this – shouldn't let this man leave like this – but do _something_ , whatever this something is supposed to be.

Shaking his head, he walks back to the motel, to pack his things up and leave in time to catch his train. He hopes he will come back to this town again one day, and – almost despite himself – he also hopes to get a chance of another meeting with the man from the beach, the one who seems to love books, the sea and the ocean so much. Maybe the thoughts should bother him, but they don't – and why, oh why, does it feel like something... normal to imagine talking to the young man about books, the ocean and journeys to distant places?

As Eren leaves the town, he starts to plan where he should go next time. He catches the glimpse of the sea between trees when the train passes through an unexpectedly flat area stretching toward the distant seashore. That's when he gets the idea. He should go to see the ocean. And then he might even come back to this town, again, and stay a bit longer than just two days.

His second journey, however, is not to the ocean. Neither it is to the sea. Instead he picks a town somewhere in the middle of Europe, which is not a popular tourist attractions from what Eren knows. He does like the town's name, though, and that's pretty much the only reason why he decides to go there. If you ignore his finances, that's it.

Compared to his trip to the sea, this one is more eventful... but might score higher on the strangeness scale.

First, there is this one time when, due to the lack of any better options what to do with himself on a rainy day, he waltzes into some café which names seems appealing to him. "Utopia." A strange choice of the name, he thinks, but he's not the one to complain. Besides, he loves the place at first sight. It has the old look, but not old-fashioned. The furniture is made of wood, and the light is dim. It's just a perfect place and Eren takes a mental note to visit it a few more times before he leaves the town.

He sits down by a small table in the corner, the one from which he can see the whole interior and everyone who walks in. Just a minute later a waitress comes to take his order and he decides on black tea.

As he's waiting for the tea to be made, he notices two men sitting by the other table. They quickly draw Eren's attention to themselves. Especially one of them, who somehow seems out of place in this café, although why Eren thinks so, he couldn't explain.

With a serious expression on his face, the man leans over the sheets of papers lying on the table. He's clad in a suit, his hair is neatly combed and parted to the side, which gives him a bit old-fashioned look that suits him surprisingly well. Feel free to laugh at Eren as much as you want, but all he can think about is the man's eyebrows. Because he's sure as hell they should be much thicker than they are.

The other man is a completely different story. Dressed similarly to his companion, with the haircut that is shorter than his companion's but seems similar in some way, has a stern expression on his face. It's easy to imagine the man as a lawyer, or even better – an attorney. Just a quick glance at him and Eren is almost sure he's not someone that would be easy to get along with him. Well, at least not for him as the both men seem to be get along quite well.

It might be that Eren stares at them too much and they sense it, as the more scary one of them suddenly raises his head and his eyes rest on Eren, boring into him. And for the second time in his life Eren shifts uncomfortably under somebody's hard stare. Although unlike the other time there is that strange feeling that it all happened once, long time ago, and the man stared at him like that, as if Eren was an object and not a human being. Something to be cut up and dissect.

Eren shudders and lets his eyes wander to the side, only to discover that he's been watched by the other man as well.

The man draws his brows together, as if thinking about something deeply, and rubs his right arm absently. There is a calculative look in his face, as if he is assessing all possibilities he has. After a short while the man's eyes move to his arm, he blinks and _stares_ at it, with an expression that would make everyone think that he is surprised to see it in the place it is. Strangely enough, there is something about the man that actually makes Eren straighten his back and think how to show the man the respect he clearly deserves.

Miraculously, Eren is saved by a woman. She appears by the table the both men are sitting at and tells them something with a smile on her face. The both men's attention immediately turns to her, their expressions immediately soften and a glint of interest appears in their eyes, strong enough even for Eren to see it.

When the woman leaves and walks back behind the counter – funny thing, Eren hasn't realised until now she works here – the men return their attention to the papers in front of them. The strange occurrence is clearly forgotten, as when they leave the café, neither of them spares Eren even a single glance.

Only when Eren is sure they won't come back any time soon, does he finally take a deep breath, quickly discovering how much deprived of oxygen his body seems to be. He finishes his tea quickly and leaves the place after paying his bill and making the correction to his previous mental note. If he's ever to visit this place again, he first makes sure that neither of the men is inside of the café.

The very next day also proves far away from something that could be considered normal.

After the strange meeting from the day before, Eren decides to stay away from the café for a day at least. Instead he walks around the town, slowly getting lost in his thoughts and paying just enough attention to his surrounding so that he wouldn't walk into somebody by accident. Or some other damp sheet as we're on the "walking in" subject. And let's not forget about the sniffing man.

Suddenly there is a huge noise, which sounds suspiciously like a thunder, and the ground actually shakes. Eren just swirls around – and he recognizes the sound, pretty sure he's heard it twice and twice it accompanied the appearance of a giant monster, so his eyes scan his surrounding, looking for signs of any threats – and his hands fly to his side... only to find nothing there. He blinks, as if woken up from a deep sleep, wondering what kind of a big monster he thought about just mere seconds ago. And then it hits him where exactly he is now. His face gets unexpectedly hot and he's pretty sure it's turning beet red now. He takes an anxious look around, hoping that nobody has seen him.

Well, slim chances for not being seen.

There is a young woman in front of him, her hands still by her sides, moving and searching for something that she apparently expects to find there, only to realize that it doesn't exist. Eren is pretty sure that her pose is mirroring his. So is the expression on her face and its colour, which gets even redder when she notices he's looking at her.

After a second her expression changes and she stares at Eren, knitting her brows. For a while it looks as if she wanted to asked him about something, but like the man from the beach she says nothing in the end. Instead she sends him a sheepish smile and just like that, she's gone, on her way toward whatever place was her initial aim. Only once does she look back, darting him a quick, puzzled glance.

Eren watches her walk away, her short strawberry blond hair moved by gentle gusts of the winds. There are flower ornaments on the back of her jacket, but somehow he's convinced that not the flowers should be there but wings, as they would suit her more. And there it is again, the feeling of meeting a dear friend, once lost but found again.

His eyes follow her until she meets three other men. Two of them wave at her and she waves back. The other one seems to be yelling something while pacing toward her until he trips and then covers his mouth with his hand. Somehow Eren just _knows_ that the man must have bitten his tongue. Again.

For some reason it's too much for Eren to watch, so he turns around and walks away. He doesn't realise that tears are flowing down his face until some passer-by stops to ask if he is okay.

That night he dreams of a forest of huge trees and riding through it on a horse, and for sure a leisure trip it is not. It's more like a race against time. A funny thing, he thinks after waking up, as he's never ridden a horse before. The huge trees that, he's pretty sure, don't really exist in this world just slip his mind.

He sees the woman and the three men again on the day when leaves the town. They're standing together on the train platform, waiting for the train, and Eren can't help but steal glances at them. The woman keeps smiling, telling them about something he can't hear and waving her hands as she speaks. Every now and then she's interrupted by the man who bit his tongue when Eren first saw them. Her face darkens at every interruption and she scolds the man. Then it's up to the other two to calm them down somehow and the whole situation repeats again.

It all looks so heart-warming, because despite apparent arguments the woman has with the man, it's easy to say that the four of them are really close to one another, a group of good friends perhaps. So Eren keeps watching them in the most discreet way he can, because for some reason it makes him feel... great. Like a huge boulder was taken of his shoulders.

When Eren focuses his attention back on the group, the woman and the man are arguing again. And then there it is – the man bites his tongue by accident and Eren has to lower his head and fake a cough to hide a smile that appears on his face the very moment he sees. And just to clear everything up – he's not smiling, because of the man's suffering, but because of the situation, which should be unfamiliar to him, but is not. Actually it's a mystery to Eren how the managed to talk for so a long time without biting his tongue even once. Somehow Eren expects it to be a more frequent appearance.

He watches them until they board their train and something changes then. There is a single pang in his chest and for a reason he can't understand he feels as if he was left behind by them. _Again._ The feeling doesn't disappear until Eren's train finally arrives. He boards it and doesn't look back toward the town.

Even after he leaves the town, every now and then he has the dream about the forest. It rarely changes. It's always about the race against the time, but sometimes he can see something, some shape or a symbol, on a piece of fabric flowing in front of his eyes. And always after waking up, no matter how hard he tries, he can't never remember what the symbol is. Whenever he has the dream, he wakes up with a strange feeling of regret he can't explain.

It takes him a few more months before he finally travels to the ocean. He's thrilled, to say the least, but soon after he arrives to his destination, Eren decides that his luck must have run out.

The sky is mostly clouded – of course it has to be on the day he finally gets there – and the ocean is nothing but a huge mass of water in fifty, or even more, shades of grey. After taking a quick glance at the ocean – and fighting hard not to feel utterly disappointed – he decides to walk around the town. He's sure the weather will get better sooner or later, but the first impression he has of the ocean is well... bad.

Fortunately for him, there is quite a lot to do in the town even without sitting on the beach, sunbathing or trying to swim in the ocean.

He wanders around side streets, striding away from the crowds filling the main ones. That's where he finds a small shop that quickly catches his attention due to a single item that he notices on the shop window – a necklace with a pendant in the shape of a key. Call him silly, but somehow he feels that the key would suit him and that long ago there was a similar thing hanging from his neck. A crazy thought, taking into consideration his strong dislike for jewellery of any kind.

He stops in the entrance, his eyebrows raised and his eyes wide. The interior is a bit dark and cluttered beyond belief. What Eren expected to be a typical shop with souvenirs appears to be a kind of... antique shop... perhaps? At least that's what comes to his head as his gaze sweeps over the shelves stuffed with books, old magazines, small figurines and other things he prefers not to identify. Hesitantly, he walks inside, and of course that the first thing that actually catches his attention is a layer of dust he spots on one of the shelves. He almost rolls his eyes at the sight, wondering how often the owner actually cleans this place.

Don't get him wrong. He's far away from being a clean freak, but he does dust and vacuums his parents' place, more often than every now and then. It all is done much to his mother great amazement and amusement, as she definitely didn't teach him the importance of cleanness. It was almost like Eren has always known it from the day of his birth.

Taking it all into consideration, it shouldn't be a surprise that he finds dirt and dust putting off. He winces, with his mind half-made to leave the place, when his eyes rest on the display with necklaces and similar stuff.

Oh, right, the necklace.

The desire to actually possess that little thing manages to win over Eren's displeasure with the state of the place, so no longer than two minutes later he's a proud owner of the necklace.

Just as he's about to go out, a strange pair enters the shop, a man and... a woman? Eren actually isn't sure about the woman part. That person's gender is anything but a mystery. Their unisex clothes and messy hair just add nicely to the picture and could well work for both genders. Together with her – oh to hell to that, he decides to assume that the person indeed is a woman, as the body shape, or at least what he can make of it under the cloths, is more curvy than the man's would be – loud and somewhat low voice. Shortly after entering the shop her eyes widen, her mouth slightly opens and off she goes, disappearing among the shelves.

A smile tugs at Eren's mouth as he watches the scene. Then his eyes move to the man, still standing in the entrance and glaring in the general direction where the woman must be, which isn't really that hard to point, taking into consideration all the excited cries she gives

The man's eyes travel to the side and the frown on his face deepens as soon as his eyes rests on one of the shelves...

Eren is sure he knows what happens next – the man will raise his hand, brush his fingers over its dust-covered surface and then look at the tips of his fingers with an expression of such disgust on his face as if he spotted there not some speck of dust, but something much worse. And that's what the man does indeed.

"Just when the fuck did they clean this place last time?" the man utters, while wiping his hand with a handkerchief taken out of his pocket.

And that's exactly when Eren loses it. He turns around, with a wide grin spread over his face, and whispers, "Did you see it, Ar..."

The words die on his lips as he finds himself in front of an unknown girl. Who must surely possess some ninja skills if you were to ask him, as how else she would get just behind his back without him realizing it is beyond Eren's ability to comprehend it. She stares at him blankly, no clear emotion visible on her face.

"Uh, so..sorry..." Eren stutters, realising just what exactly he did mere seconds ago – just whose name did he try to call? – and how it must have look to her. "I was... I forgot my friend didn't enter with me and tried to..." he lets his words die out as he smiles sheepishly at her.

The girl's expression softens as she watches him, her lips curving slightly. Her hands travel to her neck as if expecting to find something there – a scarf should be there, he thinks, the one she will pull it up to cover the lower part of her face, up to her nose – only to stop in the middle of the gesture. A puzzled expression appears on her face as she stares at her empty hands, with her brows drawn together. She casts Eren one more glance, turns around and walks away, disappearing at the back of the shop.

Then there it is, an odd feeling being all alone, similar to the one he once felt, watching the group of four people boarding the rain, but somehow different. And just like when he saw the man from the beach – the one with the book – walk away, all of a sudden Eren feels a twinge of regret.

He shakes his head, deciding that maybe it's the time to leave the shop. Which he doesn't manage to do in the end as he catches a glimpse of some similar shapes put on the display. With his brows knitted, he paces toward the showcase standing by the wall.

There are a few keychains placed there, four to be exact, each one of them of a different design, although they all have something in common. They look as if they are supposed to be crests of some kind. The first one that catches his eyes has two crossed swords in the middle. The symbol looks familiar, but he can't remember where he's seen it before. There also is one with roses in it, and, strangely enough, these remind him of the policeman he met all these years ago. The one with unicorn's head doesn't evoke any particular memories or feelings, unlike the last one – the keychain with a pair of stylized wings. Eren is pretty sure that he's seen this one before and that this symbol is important to him. It makes him think about the wide fields of grass he sometimes sees in his dreams and the forest of huge trees.

He's so focused on thinking about what the wings mean to him that it takes him a few seconds to realize something.

"The wings look off," he whispers and he's sure he's right about it, although he can't point what exactly is wrong with them. He was on the verge of buying the whole set not so long time before, but now... maybe not. He shakes his head, trying to get rid of the disturbing thought.

He turns around and almost walks in the man he was observing not so long time ago. Talk about people possessing ninja skills. (And of course it's not because Eren wasn't attentive.)

"Watch where you go," the man says. He fixes Eren with an icy glare which actually makes Eren feel well... rather small, despite the fact that he is a bit taller than the man.

It takes all that Eren has not to straighten his back, press his hand to his chest and reply in a loud "Sir, yes, sir!" in a military-like style. Clearly confused, he settles on simple "Uh, sorry, won't happen again."

"Would you move away?" The man adds after a short while, raising his eyebrow as he speaks.

"Sir, yes, sir!" The words slip of Eren's lips before he can stop them. He flinches tries to move away and almost trips.

The man looks at him as if he grow horns on his head and it finally downs on Eren what exactly he said.

Well, fuck. No taking it back now.

Before Eren manages to say anything – and he's ready to bet that his face has turned as red as a beet by now – a loud shriek interrupts him.

"Oh, just what did you do this time, you grumpy little man?"

The woman, whose existence Eren almost managed to forget, materializes in front of them. Yes, materializes is quite a good word, because Eren has no idea how exactly she managed to appear in front of them so quickly and seemingly out of nowhere. Must be magic... or maybe some scientific trick, like teleporting. It would suit her perfectly, Eren thinks.

The man just stares at her with a deep frown on his face, as if not sure whether he heard her right.  
  
"I did fucking nothing," he replies. "It was the brat that walked into me."

Eren blinks and stares. Did the man just call him a brat?

"Really?" She tilts her head, clearly not convinced. Then she turns to Eren and before he knows what – and how – actually happens, her face is just centimetres away from his own.

Her eyes watch him curiously as if he was a rare specimen of some bug and when she moves her head, the light reflect in her glasses, for a short while making her eyes disappear and giving her the look of a mad scientist plotting some crazy plan. (And of course that Eren doesn't think that she does look like one.)

"Hey, do I know you?" She tilts her head again, her eyes not leaving Eren's face even for a second. She moves her head even closer to his face. "I could have sworn that I've seen you somewhere before."

Eren shifts uncontrollably, and tries to move back, but his back hits against the shelves. Panicked, he realizes there is no way for him to run away.

Suddenly the woman lets out a squeak as she's pulled back, or more like yanked back, by the man.

Eren makes a mental note to thank the man.

"Are you fucking serious?!" The man stares at her as if he couldn't believe his eyes. "You're scaring the brat."

Well, scratch the "thank you" part.

Eren wants to protest and say that he's not a brat, but one look at the man's face makes him resign from the plan. He'd rather not have this glare – the one that makes you wish that the death you're just about to face is not the slow and painful one – directed at himself right now. The woman might be immune to it – oh, she surely is, judging by her reaction or rather lack of it – but Eren definitely is not.

"And as the matter of fact – that was a fucking cheesy pick-up line," the man adds after a short while. His eyes move to Eren, and even though the frown doesn't disappear from the man's face, it looks somehow different now; different in a way that Eren couldn't explain. Something flickers in the man's eyes, and for a split second Eren thinks that the man wants to say something, ask some question maybe – quite a ridiculous thought. And guess what? Of course he says nothing. Instead, he turns around and walks away.

"It was not. He does look... familiar," the woman shouts after the man, but is ignored. She shrugs and walks away, seemingly interested in other stuff that the shop offers. She throws Eren one more unreadable glance over her shoulder, her brows slightly drawn together, before her attention switches to something else. She keeps mumbling to herself and Eren can't help but think that in a way it all does make her look like one of these mad scientists from old cartoons he watched long years again. And he's so ready to bet that a scientist she is _._

Eren's eyes follow them until they disappear behind the shelves. Just what on earth was all of _this_?

Slowly, he paces toward the entrance. His fingers clutch on the key he bought even though he can't remember taking it out of the bag. He stares at his hand as if the key was supposed to give him some answers, but of course he gets none.

He's not aware of the fact that he stops after leaving the shop. He doesn't even realise the man and the woman leave the shop as well and pass by him without any word.

Only when he feels he's being observed, does he raise his head and looks ahead.

The woman is nowhere to be seen, but a quiet squeal coming from a small shop nearby kind of reveals her whereabouts. (Okay, scratch the kind of part – the squeals reveal her exact whereabouts without _any_ doubt.) And a funny thing happens again – Eren can't help but think that it all is so much like her, although the thought doesn't really make much sense as he doesn't know _her_.

But that's enough about the woman.

The man from the shop is just a few metres away from Eren. He's leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, and watches Eren, with his eyes half-lidded. The frown hasn't disappeared from his face and Eren starts to suspect that this expression must be typical of him. Eren's lips curve slightly as he thinks that this frown looks so much in place that it's hard to imagine the man without it.

As Eren eyes the man curiously, he notices that the man looks a bit different than he did in the shop. There is a slight arch in his eyebrows now and they no longer look like straight lines. There is no scary gleam in his eyes anymore and instead of glaring he's just staring at Eren now. All in all, the man looks a little more approachable instead of giving off the feeling of being constantly on guard.

The silence falls, deep and eerie, and – a miracle – even the woman's wild squeals have died out, for now at least. The man keeps staring at Eren, and the longer it lasts, the more uneasy Eren feels. Finally, brought on the verge of a nervous breakdown, instead of staring back at the man, Eren sends him a glare.

A gleam appears in the man's eyes and Eren can't decide if it's more on a dangerous on a teasing side.

"Not bad," the man mutters under his breath.

Or maybe Eren is imagining this, because he's not really sure if the man said anything at all. He shifts uncontrollably, not sure how to react to the situation. Should he say something? Or rather walk away?

"Those wings..." The man finally breaks the silence. His voice is soft yet clearly hearable. "They shouldn't be so roundish, should they? And whoever made them, they've got two feathers wrong."

The man's hands fall down along his sides as he talks and he pushes himself away from the wall. He takes a few steps to get closer to Eren and even for a while his eyes don't drift away from Eren’s face.

The words are so unexpected that Eren blinks and gapes at first. Then he flinches and shifts under the man's intense gaze.

The man's comment is right on the spot, pointing exactly what was off about the wings, even though Eren couldn't tell it back in the shop. But why? Why does this man know? Could it be that Eren is not going insane and these strange thoughts aren't the sign of something being wrong with his brain, but there is more to it all? His eyes, wide open, focus on the man's face. Eren's lips move, but no sound comes out.

Something flashes in the man's eyes as he watches Eren – or so Eren thinks at least, because it happens so fast that he can't be sure if he does see it. And once again the situation feels so familiar as if it all did happen in the past.

"Care about a talk..." the man adds after a while, but is interrupted by a particularly loud squeal coming from the shop. It actually makes the man turn his head and stare at the shop, his frown deepening.

Seeing his reaction, Eren pursues his lips to hide a smile. He's sure he can easily follow the train of the man's thoughts, and he knows that just like him, the man can't help but wonder what a monstrous thing she's found there this time. Somehow this situation is both, terrifying and hilarious, at the same time.

The man sighs as he moves his eyes back to Eren. His voice sounds somewhat flat when he speaks again. "Assuming you don't mind dealing with... _that_." He points to the shop.

Eren almost laughs at the last sentence. He's pretty sure that the man referred to the woman and not to the squeal she made. He shakes his head. "I don't mind," he replies. Then his face breaks into a wide grin, million thoughts flashing through his mind at once. It feels like winning a lottery or being a child again and getting a new toy or both, or even more. He gets the chance to talk to this man and somehow it feels like he was about to talk to his life-long idol, no matter how strange it might seem.

"Just what is so fucking thrilling about talking to me and that four eyes? Are you a kindergarten brat?"

The frown on the man's face deepens slightly, but Eren is strongly convinced that the man find something humorous about the situation as his eyes twinkle with amusement for a short while.

It all seems so ridiculous that Eren actually laughs and it feels so good to be able to laugh this way again that that it takes some effort to stop. "No, sir," he finally replies to the man question.

_Well, fuck._

The words roll off his tongue so naturally that Eren is not even aware he says them until he actually hears his own voice. Eren's cheeks get suspiciously warmer and he only hopes he's face hasn't turned fifty shades of red – or more – and gives the man a weak, nervous smile. It surely must seem strange to the man to be called that way, he thinks, when there is no real reason to do that. He draws his brows together and his glance darts to the man.

The man's eyebrows slightly raise in the response to Eren's words and he tilts his head. His eyes are still focused on Eren and Eren is slowly starting to find the situation unnerving. The man might be in fact wondering if Eren is sane, for which Eren can't really blame him as he's spent some time considering the matter himself.

"What is your name?"

Once again the man is the one to break the silence.

"Eren."

Nothing shows on the man's face, no expression that can be easily seen or read, but he nods to himself as if what he heard is exactly what he had expected to hear.

Eren eyes him curiously. "And what is your name?"

It takes some effort not to add "sir" at the end of the sentence.

The man keeps silent for quite a while before he finally replies.

Eren nods to himself upon hearing the name. It's a good name, he thinks.

And although it's different from the name that Eren's brain supplies him with, somehow it does suit the man that stands in front of him.

**Author's Note:**

> And that’s the exact moment when "Hanji" leaves the shop, with some unidentifiable stuff in her hands – and believe me, you don’t want to know what it is – and keeps moving her eyes from Eren to "Levi", before she finally asks, “Did I miss something?”
> 
> But it would be such an anticlimactic ending. So I leave it all the way it is.
> 
> I’m sorry that I’m not sorry for throwing Nile in the story. Also I believe that at least some of you know who the woman from the café is.


End file.
